Hierarch16th century

Maximus Brankovic Archbishop of Serbia

c. 1461 – 1516

Also known as Maximus the New · Metropolitan of Wallachia

A son of the Serbian despot Stephen Brankovic who became a monk, archbishop of Serbia, and metropolitan of Wallachia, a peacemaker among rulers.

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Commemorated as

Our Father Among the Saints Maximus, Archbishop of Serbia and Metropolitan of Wallachia

Life

Maximus Brankovic was a sixteenth-century Serbian hierarch who, before entering monastic life, was a member of the ruling Brankovic dynasty and a titular despot of Serbia. Born George (Djordje) Brankovic, he renounced his secular titles to become a monk, founded the monastery of Krusedol in Syrmia, and rose to serve as a leading bishop. Tradition remembers him as archbishop of Serbia and metropolitan of Wallachia, and especially as a peacemaker who mediated among the rulers of the Ottoman-pressed Balkans.

He belonged to a household that produced several venerated figures: his mother Angelina and his brother John (Jovan) are likewise commemorated as saints. His life spans the period of Serbian displacement under Ottoman expansion, when members of the old despotic family sought refuge and authority north of the Danube and in the Romanian lands.

Timeline5 momentsReadHide

c. 1461Birth into the Brankovic dynastyGeorge (Djordje) Brankovic was born around 1461, by report at Shkoder. He was a son of Stephen Brankovic, the exiled despot of Serbia, and of the princess Angelina, herself later venerated as a saint.
1486-1497Titular despot of SerbiaHe received the title of despot of Serbia from King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary in 1486 and from 1493 held it jointly with his brother John, remaining titular despot until 1497.
1497Renunciation and monastic tonsureHe relinquished his titles and possessions to his brother, was tonsured a monk, and took the name Maximus. He is associated with the founding of the Krusedol monastery in Syrmia (Srem).
c. 1505-1508Service and diplomacy in WallachiaHe traveled into the Romanian lands, where, according to tradition, he fled Ottoman pressure and was entrusted with diplomatic missions by Prince Radu IV the Great of Wallachia. He is remembered as metropolitan of Wallachia and as a mediator who, in 1507, helped reconcile the princes of Wallachia and Moldavia.
1513-1516Hierarch and reposeHe served as a metropolitan (recorded for Belgrade from 1513) and reposed on 18 January 1516. He was buried at Krusedol, which became his principal shrine, and was numbered among the saints by the Serbian Church.

Contributions & Legacy

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From despot to monk

George Brankovic was a grandson of Despot Djuradj Brankovic and a son of the exiled Serbian despot Stephen and the princess Angelina. After the loss of the medieval Serbian state to the Ottomans, the family held its dignities as titular rulers under Hungarian protection. George received the despotic title in 1486 and shared it with his brother John.

In 1497 he set aside his worldly rank, distributing his titles and holdings, and was tonsured a monk under the name Maximus. He is connected with the establishment of the Krusedol monastery in Syrmia, part of the cluster of monastic foundations on the Fruska Gora associated with his family. Sources record that he had earlier married Isabella del Balzo, an Italian noblewoman, before his turn to the monastic life.

Hierarch and peacemaker

Tradition remembers Maximus as archbishop of Serbia and as metropolitan of Wallachia. According to the synaxarial account he withdrew, under Ottoman pressure, into the mountainous regions of the Romanian lands, where he was consecrated to high hierarchical office. The historical record associates him with the see of Belgrade from 1513.

His reputation rests heavily on his role as a mediator among the rulers of his time. In Wallachia, Prince Radu IV the Great relied on him for diplomatic missions, and in 1507 he is credited with negotiating peace between Radu of Wallachia and Prince Bogdan III of Moldavia. This work of reconciliation among Orthodox princes, undertaken amid the encroachment of Ottoman power, became a defining mark of his sanctity.

Repose, relics, and veneration

Maximus reposed on 18 January 1516 and was buried at the Krusedol monastery he had founded, which became the center of his veneration. He was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church and is commemorated on January 18.

His relics suffered greatly in later centuries: during the Austro-Turkish war of 1716 the monastery was seized and the holy relics were burned, with only minor portions reported to have been preserved. His mother Angelina and his brother John are venerated alongside him, the Brankovic household being remembered together among the Serbian saints.

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